More ally trouble? Mulayam hints at pulling plug on UPA

What does it mean when Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav tells party men to prepare for elections in September 2013? Does he know something we don't, or is he planning to withdraw support to the UPA government?

CNN-IBN quoted sources as saying that Mulayam is expected to try and force elections this year. Although no details were immediately available, the Samajwadi Party leader had previously threatened to withdraw support to the alliance, if the contentious SC/ST Promotions quota bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha.

Bye bye UPA? Image from PTI

Yadav has already made it clear that he will not support either the Congress or BJP in the upcoming polls, and is a great believer in the emergence of a 'third front', an idea he reiterated recently as well.

Addressing a gathering of party members last week, Yadav said, " The party should have target of winning all 80 seats from the state and workers should remain alert about the propaganda of opposition parties".

With its 21 MPs in the Lok Sabha, the support of the Samajwadi Party is crucial for the UPA to maintain a majority, especially after the withdrawal of Mamata Banerjee's TMC.